


The dust of snow from a hemlock tree

by Lumeha



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Fae & Fairies, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21873853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lumeha/pseuds/Lumeha
Summary: Do not corrupt the heart of steel, do not weaken the soul of iceDo not turn lies into truths, emotions into bladesPrince of Winter, rememberThe one who protects is the one who holds your life(or : a meeting between the court of Spring and the court of Winter, and Felix stands near Dimitri ; and Dimitri stands near Felix ; and maybe they never truly expected to be there one day)
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & Claude von Riegan, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30
Collections: 2019 Dimilix Holiday Exchange





	The dust of snow from a hemlock tree

**Author's Note:**

  * For [villagepsychic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/villagepsychic/gifts).



> Happy holiday exchange to my recipient, rhea ! I hope you will enjoy your gift and have a great end of the year, full of warmth and love and fun ! 
> 
> Title is quoted from "Dust of snow" by Robert Frost

Felix stands behind Dimitri with stiff shoulders and rigid spine, weighted by the new position he has to carry. They are standing at the balcony overlooking the large ballroom, the allure of its age exacerbated by the mingling of technology and magic of the crowd. Below them, indistinct chatter and bodies are mingling, spinning and turning without a care in the world - they enjoy the simple happiness of _being_. Do they know, or care, about what goes bump in the dark and what whispers in the rays of the sun, the song of magic, the fragile peace ? 

It is as irritating as it is a relief. 

Dimitri’s eye follows the trail of Sylvain and his sharpened smile around the room. Twirl, step, step, a graceful turn to the left, and a wink to the man observing him when he catches his gaze, before he disappears once again into the tides. Ingrid and Dedue are around, too, but he doesn’t see them. It is for the best and he knows it ; they prefer to stay back into the shadows unless needed. He hopes they don’t have to. 

"Do you hate it ?" Dimitri asks, his head tilted to the side. There is a weight to all the bodies, without names and without faces. 

"Hate what ?" Felix asks in return, as if the question makes no sense. 

"... That you are forced to be..."

He can’t find the right words, and waves a hand in front of himself. 

The huff and puff is almost comical, but the show warms Dimitri’s heart. Felix scowls, rolls his eyes, and his shoulders relax. He takes a step forward and stands next to the towering silhouette of the prince, a breach of etiquette that they refuse to care about. 

"I don't hate it."

It is much more of an admission that they both want to admit. Dimitri lets his hand rise to his right eye, covered by fabric embroidered with strands of gold and blue. A gift from Mercedes. When she gifted it to him, she had whispered that it would be a protection and a shield, runes stitched with a witch’s blood, worth more than all the coins and weapons he received the day he received his title. The twist of her smile had told Dimitri that he was not the one she was talking about.

( _Do not corrupt the heart of steel, do not weaken the soul of ice_ )

"I never hated it." Felix adds after a moment, almost too low for Dimitri to catch in the loud brouhaha of the evening. His gaze is hard and unflinching, just as it was, months, years ago.

And yet.

( _Do not turn lies into truths, emotions into blades_ )

"Thank you, Felix."

( _Prince of Winter, remember_ )

"Keep that to yourself."

( _The one who protects is the one who holds your life)_

Felix raises his head and moves to stand next to him, so close he is almost touching him. He is warm, solid, and it is so precious to Dimitri. He almost forgot. He almost lost himself and forgot, and yet…

Felix takes his hand, forces him to put it down, and shakes his head.

"Stop trying to touch it."

"I am..."

"Just stop. You are going to irritate it."

Dimitri thinks about his father and the way the brand in his palm was only shown in private, in the most vulnerable of moments, and he wonders what he gave up for it. What he lost and gained when the etching in his flesh bound him to the one sworn to protect him when he took the title of prince of the court of winter. 

“What do we have here ?”, Claude asks in his sing-song voice, a tease in his smile. He steps into the dim light of the balcony, clad in his favoured colours of spring and hope under a delicate jacket of black. “Your Princeliness, you should not let your guard down like this.” 

“Your Highness… Claude. I am glad you accepted my invitation. Lorenz, Hilda”, he adds with a nod directed behind the other man. A polite bow and a low exchange of salute, rigid from the Gloucester and irreverent from the Goneril fae, follows, with Felix only giving a short nod to the group. 

“Do you want to take this party somewhere more private ? I _can’t_ imagine the gossip, tomorrow, if anyone catch Spring and Winter conspiring together.”

“Unless you feel like we did not do our dues for your security, this place has been protected. Felix took care of the glamour and wards. We are protected. Only your people and mine are authorized.”

Curiosity and a twisted delight shines in Claude's eyes, his focus shifting to the one next to the prince. 

“What an interesting choice of shield, your Princeliness.”

“If this information gets out as soon as we leave here, I will make you pay for it, Duke of Spring”, Felix says. “You know why.” He lets the anger burn through his voice. 

Claude stops Lorenz from taking a step forward with a raised hand, and he smiles, sharp like thorns and claws. “Fiery ! What a nice contrast. Don’t worry. I will remember,” he says in a tone that Dimitri can’t quite place. It is no threat, and yet. 

With a sharp nod, Felix takes a step back to stand behind Dimitri once again. 

“So. Shall we begin ?” Claude asks. “Plans and schemes don’t create themselves alone.”

**xoxox**

After a gruelling hour of back and forth, hours of discussions and conflicts of language and words that Dimitri will never wield as well as Claude does, the two leaders seal their new alliance with a strong handshake and a stilted, traditional oath with centuries of magic to fuel it. Hilda stands up and stretches with a bored look, and ignores Lorenz sending daggers with his eyes. 

“As always, it was a pleasure, your Princeliness”, the Duke of Spring says before giving them a short salute. “Let’s hope the Bishop and Empress don’t let their fangs grow too much.”

Felix lets himself relax only when he is sure they are no longer around, the warm flutter of their presence disappearing against his wards. Dimitri tilts and falls against him, and he almost buckles under the sudden weight of fur, flesh and fabric. “You dumb…! Warn me before you do that, next time”, he grumbles. “You are so much heavier than you were as a child.”

A laugh, small and vulnerable, escapes from Dimitri’s throat. Once again, his hand goes up to his eye, crawls to the brand that blinded his eye and the oath that bound him and Felix. Once again, his shield stops it, and lets out a strangled noise when Dimitri kisses his fingers with a too hot tenderness.

“Thank you. It is easier to stand when I know you are there to protect us. To protect me.”

“Don’t thank me. It’s my job,” he grumbles, avoiding the gaze of the prince with dusty red cheeks.

"Thank you."


End file.
